bigglesfandomcom-20200215-history
The White Fokker
The White Fokker is a short story which was first published in Popular Flying in April 1932 and was subsequently collected as the second chapter of the very first Biggles book The Camels are Coming, published in September 1932. The story was subsequently republished in The Modern Boy Issue 257, 7th January 1933 where it was given the title Biggles and the White Fokker. The story also appeared in Biggles of the Special Air Police published in 1953. Synopsis Biggles and his squadron mates set a trap for an enemy pilot who makes a habit of picking on and shooting down novice pilots. Plot (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Biggles and his 266 squadron mates are at the airfield awaiting the return of Mahoney's flight from a patrol. The three Camels are making their approach to land when, suddenly, a white Fokker D.VII dives down from above, shoots down the last Camel and then zooms away before anyone else can respond. Mahoney is upset: the dead pilot is Norman, a young pilot on his first operational mission. Major ullen plans a counter: the next day, Mahoney will proceed on patrol as normal. Biggles will take his flight to the ceiling and wait for the return of Mahoney's flight and provide top cover. Mahoney's patrol proceeds smoothly but he sees two Camels above him plunging to their destruction. Back at base, Biggles is distraught and furious. The enemy has been smarter than they and had anticipated everything. Biggles had seen the white Fokker going down after Mahoney and he had followed him down with his flight. However, it turned out that the white Fokker was merely the bait and Biggles had swallowed it. A large force of Fokkers was above, waiting for just that to happen and dived down after Biggles' Camels. Before he knew it, both Maddison and Swayne, his two wingmen, had been shot down. Biggles barely got away himself. Major Mullen consults his other flight commanders Mahoney and MacLaren. Something has to be done soon. The squadron had lost three pilots in two days and Biggles himself looked like he was going to have a breakdown. Biggles comes up with a new plan. He would accompany Mahoney on a patrol and act as a novice pilot to attract the white Fokker. Meanwhile Mullen would take as many aircraft as he could to provide top cover and prevent the other Fokkers from interfering. Nothing happens during the patrol and Mahoney's flight turns for home and begins to lose height as it makes its approach to base. Biggles plays his part of a novice pilot to perfection, flying badly and acting like he is afraid of anti-aircraft fire. For a while nothing happens and then Biggles spots a speck in the sky coming down at him. The white Fokker closes in and opens fire at short range but Biggles is ready for him and swerves away. There follows a difficult dogfight--with the Fokker pilot matching his every move until Biggles tries a desparate manoeuvre and succeeds in shooting his adversary down. Characters *Biggles *Major Mullen *Captain MacLaren *Captain Mahoney *Quinan *Swayne *Maddison *Manley *Norman *Forrest Aircraft *Sopwith Camel *D.H.9 *D.H.4 *Rumpler *Fokker D.VII Places Visited *266 Squadron, Maranique *Mossyface Wood Mentioned Editorial Changes Other Research Notes *Aerial Victories: Biggles 1 (Fokker D.VII). *Other R.F.C. and R.N.A.S. Units mentioned: **197 Sqn - According to Major Mullen, 197 Sqn, further north of 266, lost three aircraft to the White Fokker who attack them as they took off. References to the past Incongruities *"...every few seconds their eyes would study the western horizon long and anxiously." - they were on the Western Front but the 266 personnel would really be watching the eastern horizon for the return of Mahoney's patrol. *See Chronology below for anachronisms. Chronology (see also table at Timeline of the Biggles Stories) *The White Fokker is specifically stated to be a Fokker D.VII. Thus we have two choices as to the chronology: **'Avoid anachronisms about aircraft types.' Since the Fokker D.VII entered service in April 1918, we can set the story no earlier than here. This however brings along a string of other anachronisms. Algy is absent in this story but he definitely arrived in 1917. Of course he could have been on leave. Then again Biggles is promoted to captain only after this story, so all 1917 stories where he is a captain are anachronistic or have to be bumped down. **'Avoid anachronisms about plotline.' This approach places the story in such a way that the major plot elements are consistent with other stories. Thus the best place for this story would be in June-July 1917. Biggles has just joined 266 Sqn. He has been Mahoney's wingman for a while and is now an acting flight-commander but not yet a captain. Algy has not yet arrived on the scene. Then, to resolve the anachronism of the Fokker D.VII, we have to imagine that Johns intended an earlier model of Fokker fighter. This approach is also plausible, given that Johns was frequently anachronistic in his choice of aircraft. Publication History *''Popular Flying'', Apr 1932 *''The Camels are Coming'', John Hamilton, 1932 *''The Modern Boy'', Issue 257, 7th Jan 1933 (as Biggles and the White Fokker) *''Biggles in the Camels are Coming'', Boys' Friend Library, 1938 (as Chapter 2: Biggles and the White Fokker) *''Biggles of the Special Air Police'', Thames, 1953 and reprints (as Chapter 8: The White Fokker) *''Biggles: The Camels are Coming'', Red Fox, 1993 and subsequent reprints and editions *''The Camels are Coming'', Norman Wright, 2010 References Category:Short stories Category:Biggles short stories Category:World War One era short stories